The Sunday Times, 22 May 05 talk page 40
Sex, youth and education
Upon reflection of Ms Chua Xi Mins letter Give sex education at a
younger age (ST, May 16) which speculated that only a small number
of young people have casual sex, I question how these adolescents
made their decision to have sex prematurely.
The young today are exposed to an endless stream of information via
the Internet.
Unlike generations before, they realize very early there is a world
outside of what they are familiar with.
Also, with confidence gained from the Internet, they dare to
question the perceptions of their elders.
How can sex education be presented to them so they gain a healthy
perception of sex? We can let the young know that people have sex
for different reasons, but the healthiest reasons are for love or
having children within marriage.
Of course, people also do it for pleasure, money or gratification.
Sheltering the young from this may make them think there is a dark
side to sex when it is just the other side of sex.
However, we need to let them know there are consequences to
having sex in a careless or unhealthy way.
By teaching them how casual sex or promiscuity can lead to sexually
transmitted disease like HIV, we can help them understand the
frailty of life when it is not valued.
Let the young make their own informed decisions for better
or worse. We need to create a next generation who take
responsibility for their deeds, be it good or bad
by : Jueliana Tay Huimin (Ms)
